The present invention relates to an electrical connector to be connected to a mating electrical connector and, in particular, to an electrical connector having a wiping function known in the art.
For example, an electrical connector of the type is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. H11-074014 (Reference 1). The electrical connector comprises a contact and a housing holding the contact. The contact includes a fixing part fixed to the housing, a spring part extending in an inner space of the housing, and a contact part connected to the spring part and exposed out of the housing. The spring part is bent at a sharp angle from the fixing part to extend in a first direction and is turned to extend in a second direction opposite to the first direction. Namely, the spring part snakes in the inner space of the housing.
When a mating contact is pushed on the contact part, the spring part is bent with movement of the contact part. At this moment, the contact part slides on the mating contact to cause a wiping action therebetween.
However, in the above-mentioned electrical connector, a range of the wiping action is enlarged more than the necessity. This is because the spring part snakes in the inner space of the housing. Accordingly, it is difficult to miniaturize the mating contact.